Doctoral Program in Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences 2017–2018

The RD 99/2011 highlights the high professional training of doctors in various fields, especially those that require creativity and innovation. Therefore, the doctors of the program will have acquired, at least, personal skills and abilities to:

1. Develop in contexts in which there is little specific information.
2. Find the key questions that must be answered to solve a complex problem.
3. Design, create, develop and undertake innovative and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
4. Work both as a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary context.
5. Integrate knowledge, face complexity and formulate judgements with limited information.
6. The criticism and intellectual defence of solutions.

The requirements for access to doctorate studies are set in RD 99/2011 and can be consulted in the corresponding Instruction of the Doctorate School (pdf). In general, an official Spanish Bachelor's and Master's degrees or equivalent are required, with a minimum global extension of 300 ECTS credits.

Candidates with university degrees issued by a country of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) may request admission directly (info). If the degree is issued by a country outside the EHEA, the application for access with a non-homologated foreign degree must be submitted (info).

Those interested can expand their information in the administrative section of the Doctoral School (web) or the administration of the program (see contact data in the program general information section).

Preferred profiles:

Recommended master's studies for the Program are:

1.- University Master's Degree in Introduction to Research in Medicine

2.- University Master's Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology.

3.- Masters in the fields of science with specialization in Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biomedicine, Agro-Food or Health Sciences.

Depending on the master's degree course, the degree/bachelor's degree/engineering could be as follows: Veterinary Medicine, Medicine, Pharmacy, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Degree in Nursing, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Food Science and Technology, Environmental Sciences, and Biological Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, Degree in Agricultural Engineering, in Agricultural and Food Industries or Degree in Agricultural and Rural Engineering, the Degree in Food Science and Technology, as well as related degrees in the fields of Life Sciences and Medicine and Public Health.

Skills and knowledge

Students admitted to the program are required to have the basic knowledge and skills to carry out their activities in the program. Students who have completed these degrees are considered to have basic knowledge of the fundamentals of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Genetics, Genomics, Immunology, Physiology, Physiopathology, and/or Molecular Pathology, among others. Given the breadth of profiles, it is difficult to specify all the capabilities. For each of the degrees and masters indicated there is a list of the skills and knowledge acquired in each of them and which are recommended for access to the program.

A good level of understanding of written English will be required and fluency in English is recommended.

Request for adaptation of the admission requirements when there are special needs arising from the disability.

In the case of non-accredited degrees and/or degrees obtained outside the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), legalized and informative documentation with all the data about the degree presented, for evaluation by the Academic Committee, will be privided.

In general, when the number of applications for admission that meet the established requirements is greater than the number of places offered, the Academic Commission responsible for the program, following the procedure established by the University, will define and make public specific evaluation criteria which, in any case, will take into account the following general criteria:

a) In general, the available places will be awarded in accordance with the average score of the corresponding Degree that gives access to the Doctoral Program.

b) The average score may be weighted according to the degree of academic affinity of the degree that gives access to the doctoral program.

c) They may be incorporated other criteria favoring applicants with more than one University Degree, who have had their academic records recognized, who have experience in early-stage research activities or professional experience related to the program, or who have other experience.

Specific Selection Criteria:

In general, when the number of applications for admission that meet the established requirements is greater than the number of places offered, the Academic Commission responsible for the program, following the procedure established by the University, will take into account the following general criteria:

a) The average score of the record (degree/bachelor/engineering)  (degree/bachelor's degree/engineering) will be 40% of the assessment.

b) The master's degree qualification will be 10% of the assessment.

c) In the case of those students who, in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 96/2014, have obtained a Graduate Degree of at least 300 ECTS comprising at least 60 ECTS at Master's level, and who have obtained this level of qualification by means of a resolution of the Council of Universities, and therefore have been recognized at Level 3 of the Spanish Framework of Qualifications for Higher Education (MECES), the average qualification of their academic record will be 50% of the assessment. If the applicant also presents a Master's degree and wishes it to be assessed according to these criteria, then the qualification of his or her Graduate Degree file will be assessed as indicated in point a).

d) In the case of those students who have obtained a place in training in the corresponding access test to specialized health training places and have passed a positive evaluation in at least two years of training, 50% will be the academic record of the Degree.

e) It will be valued that they have obtained a recognition to their academic record and have enjoyed some scholarship for initiation to research, in addition that they have experience in activities of initiation to research or professional experience related to the program and the knowledge of languages (10%).

f) Personal interview with the applicant (10%)

g) Motivational letter, supported by a Professor of the Doctoral Program (30%). This letter will indicate the motivation, as well as the interests of the applicant in one of the lines of research of the program, these aspects will be the main focus of the personal interview. The Commission will take into account three fundamental aspects: clarity in the formulation of the research and/or professional objectives; interest in the research career; and previous knowledge in the research area(s) of interest.

The admission of students will be conditioned by the availability of human and material resources related to the research area in which the student wishes to work.

Admission to the PhD program will be preferably on a full-time basis. The student may make a reasoned request for admission on a part-time basis, which may be granted according to the reasons and circumstances stated. Likewise, applications to change the type of study will be processed in accordance with the procedure approved by the Universities (Registration Regulations and Permanence Regulations) and published on the web pages. The admission criteria are the same for part-time and full-time students.

The number of new places offered for part-time students will be up to 20%. However, this percentage may be exceeded in the event that the number of applications for part-time dedication is greater than indicated and the total number of places offered on a full-time basis has not been covered.

In view of the documentation submitted, the academic committee:

- Will admit the student to the program;

- Will admit the student to the program, subject to the completion of some training complements.

- Will reject admission in a reasoned manner.

Profile: When the degree for access to the doctorate is not one of those contemplated in the preferential profiles.

Complements to be studied: It will be indicated in each case by the Academic Commission. This Commission will consider the curricular trajectory of the applicant, and will include disciplines taught at the University of Zaragoza or the University of La Rioja in some of their official master's studies, or training specifically given in the doctoral program.

Doctoral students, as researchers in training and students of the University of Zaragoza, have to formalize every year the enrollment with the corresponding rights to the academic tutorship while continuing their doctoral training. The enrollment period will be set  in the academiccalendar approved each year by the Doctoral School. 

As a general rule, enrollment will be done online through the Secretaría Virtual ofthe University of Zaragoza. Previously a personal identification number (NIP) and password will have been obtained in the identity management service. Face-to-face registration will be allowed to those who cannot do it online, by going to the doctoral school during public service hours. PhD students must submit every year in which they enroll, documentation about their previous studies, depending on whether they have been taken in countries of the European Education Area or outside that space.

Full and up-to-date information on the enrollment procedure, including key points, is provided on the website of the Doctoral School, as well as prices, discounts and insurance, legalization and translation of documents and some others practical details.

The procedures for the supervision of doctoral students are set in article 11 of Royal Decree 99/2011, which regulates doctoral studies and the rules about Thesis (Reglamento sobre Tesis Doctorales de la Universidad de Zaragoza). The doctoral student admitted to the program has to enrol each academic year in academic tutelage at the University of Zaragoza. The Academic Committee of the program will assign a Thesis Director and a tutor, who may or may not be the same. The Thesis Director will be the person in charge of the overall management of the doctoral student's research tasks, of the coherence and adequacy of the training activities, of the impact and novelty in his/her field of the subject of the doctoral thesis and of the guide in other projects and activities where the doctoral student is involved. The tutor is responsible for the adaptation of the training and the research activity to the principles of the program and the Doctoral School and will ensure the interaction of the doctoral student with the Academic Committee of the program, the body responsible for supervising the progress of the research and training and the authorization of the thesis presentation of each doctoral student of the program.

The supervisory functions of the doctoral students will be documented in the Doctorate Letter which, once the registration is made, will be signed by the doctoral student, its tutor and its director, the program coordinator and the director of the Doctoral School. Those interested can expand the information on the thesis supervision in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.

The follow-up of the training process leading to the presentation of the doctoral thesis is carried out through the research plan and the doctoral student's document of activities. The research plan is presented before the end of the first year of enrolment and includes, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and the temporal planning to achieve it. The plan may be improved and detailed later and must be endorsed by the Director and the tutor. The document of activities is the register of all the activities -research stays, courses, attendance to congresses, or others- that the doctorate carries out from his enrolment until the presentation of the doctoral thesis. Annually, the Academic Committee of the program will evaluate the follow-up of the research plan together with the document of activities. The positive evaluation will be an essential requirement to continue in the program. In the case of a negative evaluation, the doctoral student must be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months. Those interested can expand this information in the administrative headquarters of the program (see contact information in the general information of the program) or by consulting the program coordinator.

Thesis supervision

The procedures for the supervision of students on the program are set out in Article 11 of RD 99/2011, which regulates doctoral studies. Doctoral students admitted to the program will register annually for academic supervision at the University of Zaragoza or at the University of La Rioja. The program's Academic Committee will assign a Thesis Director and a Tutor, who may or may not coincide. The Thesis Director will be the maximum responsible for the conduct of all the research tasks of the doctoral student, the coherence and suitability of the training activities, the impact and novelty in his/her field of the subject of the doctoral thesis and the guidance in the planning and its adaptation, if applicable, to that of other projects and activities where the doctoral student is registered. The tutor is responsible for the adaptation of training and research activity to the principles of the program and the Doctoral School and will ensure the interaction of the doctoral student with the Academic Commission, responsible for supervising the progress of research and training and for authorizing the presentation of theses by each doctoral student.

The supervisory functions of the doctoral students will be established in the Doctoral Letter, which will be signed by the doctoral student, his or her tutor and director, the program coordinator and the director of the Doctoral School once the registration has been completed.

Follow-up of the doctoral student

The follow-up of the training process leading to the presentation of the doctoral thesis is carried out through the research plan and the document of activities of the doctoral student. The research plan is presented before the end of the first year of enrolment and includes, at least, the methodology to be used and the objectives to be achieved, as well as the means and time planning to do so. This plan can be improved and detailed later and must be endorsed by the Director and the tutor. The document of activities is the record of all the activities - stays, courses, attendance to congresses, or others - that the doctoral student carries out from his/her registration to the presentation of the doctoral thesis. Every year, the Academic Commission will evaluate the follow-up of the research plan together with the document of activities. Positive evaluation will be an indispensable requirement for continuing in the program. In the case of a negative evaluation, the doctoral student will have to be evaluated again within a maximum period of six months.

Once the thesis has been completed, the doctoral student must proceed to deposit and defend it in accordance with the provisions set out in the thesis regulations of the University of Zaragoza.

The first year in the Doctorate Program in Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, the research plan will be publicly defended and evaluated by a panel of three doctors, two from the doctoral program and one from outside. This panel will issue a report with the qualification of satisfactory or not satisfactory. A positive evaluation of the research plan will be required to continue in the doctoral program. In case of unsatisfactory evaluation, the doctoral student will have a period of six months to elaborate and present a new research plan, which will be evaluated by the Academic Commission of the doctoral program. In the second and subsequent years, the Academic Commission will annually evaluate the research plan presented and updated, as well as the other evidence included in the activity document. Two consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations of the research plan will result in the definitive withdrawal from the program.

The Doctoral School offers an annual series of voluntary activities for all doctoral students. This formation has a transversal and interdisciplinary nature. The offer is dynamic and covers the following formative aspects: communication (oral and written), access and information management, and skills for a future social and professional performance.  Information about the activities, admission and enrolment can be found in the website of the Doctoral School  (info).

Title: Conducting seminars.

Duration: 10 h

Monitoring procedures: They must make a written summary and a public oral presentation during a maximum time of 20 minutes in front of the tutor and thesis directors in order to make known both the research plan in which the doctoral student is working and the progress made in it. These seminars will be part of a general activity of the doctoral program, which will promote the attendance of external audiences, but above all of the professors and members of the line of research in which the activity of the doctoral student is framed. At least two of the professors belonging to the doctoral student's line of research will issue a report evaluating both the written summary and the content of the topic developed, as well as its organization. The presentation made, its organization, the quality of projection presented, the language used and the attitude of the doctoral student as a speaker will also be evaluated. To this end, a "rubric" will be established to serve as a global and homogeneous assessment tool for all doctoral students.

Title: Attendance at seminars, workshops, talks.

Duration: 10 h

Monitoring procedures: Attendance and participation will be certified through the attendance diplomas issued by the scientific event. The doctoral student presents to his/her Director a written summary of the seminar or talk he/she has attended, which will be evaluated by his/her Thesis Director, and which will be incorporated into the Doctoral Student's Activities Document, where attendance will be reflected.

Title: Attendance to conferences and presentation of papers or posters.

Duration: 20 h

Monitoring procedures: The report will be incorporated into the Doctoral Student's Activities Document by presenting an attendance report, issued by the student and supported by the relevant documentation (attendance certificates, evidence of having contributed an article, certificate of having personally presented the paper).

Title: Mobility.

Duration: 480 h

Monitoring procedures: Report made by the student's receiving researcher. The report will be incorporated to the Doctoral Student's Activities Document. The tutor will also have to make the evaluation of the activity based on the adequacy of this one to the program of doctorate and to the line of investigation followed by the doctoral student.

Title: Publications and patents.

Duration: 200 h

Monitoring procedures: The student will include in the Doctoral Student's Activities Document the corresponding data of the presented patent or of the scientific work published (or sent to be published) in books, webs or scientific magazines of accredited quality in which the doctoral candidate has some degree of collaboration. It will also have the approval of the tutor/director of the doctoral thesis, and participation of the doctoral student in the preparation and writing will be indicated.

Doctoral students enrolled in doctoral programs benefit from mobility aids established in various national and international calls. The calls for the Erasmus + program stand out.

In the Erasmus + Studies mode, doctoral students can choose a wide range of destinations, since most of the agreements signed by the University of Zaragoza with other universities include places for PhD students of all branches.

In the Erasmus + Stays / Practices in companies modality, PhD students access two calls: the one from the University of Zaragoza and the one carried out by the Iberus International Campus of Excellence for the universities that comprise it, the one from Zaragoza among them.

Other mobility calls are specifically designed for Latin American students and for international stays of students with predoctoral contracts. The mobility of doctoral students of the University of Zaragoza is also encouraged with cotutela agreements signed with foreign universities.

The Doctoral School of the University of Zaragoza has rules and procedures to achieve its various goals, which have been written with the agreement of the different levels of the Doctoral School, and are published on its website.

The regulations section of the Doctoral School website contains other important regulations, both national and of the University of Zaragoza, such as RD 99/2011 por el que se regulan las enseñanzas oficiales de doctorado, el Reglamento de los Estudios de Doctorado (2012) y el Reglamento sobre tesis doctorales (2014).

Rules of duration and permanence in the doctorate are established in Instrucción de23 de mayo de 2018 de la Escuela de Doctorado relativa al acceso, admisión,dedicación y permanencia en los estudios de doctorado de la Universidad deZaragoza (R.D. 99/2011).

Full-time thesis should be complete in three years, from the date of admission to the doctoral program, although the Academic Committee of the program may authorize the extension of this period for one more year. Part-time doctoral students will have five years from their admission to the presentation of the thesis, and the Academic Committee may authorize an extension for two more years. Exceptionally, an additional year of extension can be added.

PhD candidates may request a change in dedication (full-time / part-time) as well as the temporary withdrawal for justified reasons of the Academic Committee. They can cause a definitive withdrawal and see their file closed in these cases: if the available time to deposit the thesis is exceeded or if they receive two consecutive negative evaluations of the research plan.

These processes are explained in detail on our website (info) and the doctoral students are told how to proceed in cases of temporary withdrawal (info).

The academic year is governed by the deadlines established in the specific Doctoral School´s academic calendar.

This calendar sets the periods of request for entry, admission to the programs, enrollment at the University of Zaragoza, as well as how the students must present every year the research plan and the activities document, deadlines for defending doctoral theses, etc.

The Doctoral School website publishes the calendar of the current course as well as the two previous courses (info).

The University of Zaragoza and the University of La Rioja make available to the doctoral program the necessary resources for the development of its training and research activities. These resources include teaching and research laboratories linked to different faculties and research centers.

Laboratories in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Zaragoza:

- Department of Anatomy, Embryology and Animal Genetics (http://www.unizar.es/departamentos/anatomia_embriologia/)

- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology (http://depfarfi.unizar.es/)

- Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics (LAGENBIO) (http://www.unizar.es/lagenbio/)

- Gastrointestinal Physiology Laboratory (http://depfarfi.unizar.es/unidad_fisiologia/grupos_invest_b61.htm)

Laboratories at the University of La Rioja

- Teaching and research laboratories in the areas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Food Technology of the Department of Agriculture and Food. (http:// www.unirioja.es/dptos/daa/index.shtml).

Laboratories of the CIBIR and ICVV research centers.

All laboratories are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of doctoral students. They also have technical laboratory staff for the preparation of practices, the maintenance of facilities and instruments.

Doctoral students, like any other laboratory user personnel, receive ongoing training in safety and prevention. In terms of equipment, all the laboratories have a video projector, computer and screen as well as additional portable elements.

Both universities are sensitive to equal opportunity issues, making university buildings and their entrance environment accessible by removing architectural barriers.

All the buildings on the campus of the University of La Rioja and the University of Zaragoza have accessible entrances or have adapted accesses for students with motor disabilities.

Library and Documentation Service

The University of Zaragoza has 17 university libraries distributed throughout the campuses of Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel. The University of La Rioja, organized in a single campus, has a centralized university library. In both cases, there is an extensive list of electronic journals subscribed to by the libraries, which allow for the search of journal articles and facilitate access to the full text when the library has the right to access them.

In addition, doctoral students have access to the CAI-University library, the Water and Environment Documentation Centre and the European Documentation Centre.

The University of Zaragoza has made available to its users the institutional repository Zaguán (http://zaguan.unizar.es) where the theses read at the University of Zaragoza are published in digital format. This repository complies with the OAI (Open Archive Initiative) specifications that ensure accessibility to the theses deposited in it with open standards.

It should be noted that the university library of the University of La Rioja has developed the DIALNET scientific content publication alert service (http:// dialnet.unirioja.es/). More than 75 university libraries in Spain and other countries are currently collaborating in the Dialnet project, led by the University of La Rioja.

In particular, the following libraries facilitate access to the documentary collections, bibliographic databases and scientific publications related to the Doctorate Program: Universidad de Zaragoza:

- Biomedical Library (Faculty of Sciences)

- Biomedical Library (Faculty of Medicine)

- Library of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

University of La Rioja:

- Unified and general library of the University.

Third Cycle Section of the University of Zaragoza

It is the unit of the University of Zaragoza charged to providing technical and administrative support to the university community linked to doctoral studies. Its main services are:

Information and attention to the university community with special attention to the information on the website. Support to the governing bodies and academic commissions.

Registration and file management.

Support in the verification process and mention of excellence

Support in the calls for Erasmus Mundus programs.

Academic Management Service (postgraduate) of the University of La Rioja

At the University of La Rioja there is an Academic Management Service (Postgraduate) (http://www.unirioja.es/servicios/sga/area/index_SGAP.shtml) which is the unit dedicated to managing the following academic processes:

- From admission to the completion of second and third cycle university studies, masters and doctoral programs, coordinating and planning its actions with the Departments and the Academic Committees of the Centers.

- Issuance of university degrees, both official and proprietary, at all academic levels

- Issuance of European Supplements to official qualifications at all academic levels

- Homologation of Master's and Doctoral degrees

- Applications for scholarships and study grants at all academic levels

International Relations Section

The International Relations Service, through the international student reception offices, promotes mobility, welcomes international PhD students and facilitates their integration into the University.

International PhD students are provided with support and information about the city, accommodation, Spanish and other language courses, medical assistance, grants and scholarships, etc.

At the University of La Rioja, international relations and the promotion of student mobility are carried out by the International Relations Office, with the support of the student office.

Other support: researcher mobility center (EURAXESS). The University of Zaragoza, through the Vice-rectorate of Scientific Policy, is part of the EURAXESS European Network of Aragon and is an information point that provides personalized assistance both to foreign researchers who are moving to Aragon to develop their research work, and to Aragon’s researchers who are interested in moving abroad temporarily. This support deals with issues such as procedures for obtaining visas, residence cards and their renewals, homologation of university degrees, job offers, Social Security and health care, schooling and other useful information to facilitate the movement and integration of the researcher in the destination country.

Detailed information is available at: http://www.unizar.es/gobierno/vr_investigacion/sgi/eramore/index.html

Provision for obtaining external resources and travel grants for attending conferences and stays abroad to support doctoral students in their training

Support will be given to the calls for mobility grants for doctoral students to help them obtain a doctorate with an international mention. Generally, doctoral students who have been awarded grants from national programs (FPU, FPI, ISCIII) are eligible for grants from these programs for stays abroad. Those from regional calls at the University of Zaragoza have the grants of the Europe Program financed by the CAI and the Government of Aragon. At the University of La Rioja, doctoral students have the same national grants and those granted by the regional government or those of the University of La Rioja, which also have mobility grants for stays in other research centers.

In addition to the grants generally provided by the congress organizers for student attendance, the University of Zaragoza has its own grants and travel grants.

The University of La Rioja has a program to support the presentation of congress communications for lecturers and doctoral students. It is open all year round and information can be found on the page:

http://www.unirioja.es/servicios/sgib/investigacion/convo_bolsas.shtml

Likewise, the University of La Rioja has its own Research Promotion and Development Plan which includes other actions aimed at supporting various activities of doctoral students:

Research projects.

Grants for doctoral theses (ATUR). FPI-UR grants for doctoral theses. Grants for researcher mobility.

Information on all these actions can be found on the following page:

http://www.unirioja.es/servicios/sgib/investigacion/plan_propio.shtml

The signing of agreements with higher education institutions that promote student mobility within the framework of the Lifelong Learning Program (Erasmus), internships with Leonardo, will be encouraged, in accordance with the development of the Programs, in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Vice-Rector’s Office for International Relations and Development Cooperation.

The forecast of the percentage of students who get the mentioned aids

So far, all doctoral students who have applied for grants for stays abroad or at other national centers have obtained funding. We hope that these success rates will continue to be maintained.

Graduates of the program have at their disposal the professional orientation service of the University of Zaragoza, Universa (http://www.unizar.es/universa/), which is composed of professional guides who are experts in Human Resources. Universa provides personalized information on job searches, company selection tests and preparation of curricula vitae and cover letters. Periodically, training sessions on professional skills and monographic orientation seminars are organized (international mobility, job search, development of professional skills, presentations and effective interviews, etc.) to help guide and facilitating the insertion of graduates into the labor market.

At the University of La Rioja, the quality and assessment office manages the Observatory on employment sector insertion and emerging professional trends (OTPE)

The University of La Rioja, with the collaboration of the Government of La Rioja, has created the OTPE within the framework of a set of strategic measures aimed at improving the quality of the service it provides to its students and to society in general. The Observatory aims to collect the opinions and needs of social agents, especially employers, on future trends in the employment sector.